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“Please, please, please,” Christian begged as he bounced up and down in the chair.
“What is Playdate?” I asked because clearly it was something very fun.
“A massive indoor playground that Christian loves to go to. It’s a lot of fun,” Liam answered.
“Well, who wouldn’t have fun in a big indoor playground? What do you think Baby? Do you want to check it out afterwards?”
I was surprised that Liam had suggested it. I was even more surprised though because he said we, which meant he was going to be coming with us to the hospital. I would have figured he had to work today.
“Yes please!” The boys were very excited now, and I knew that meant we were going to be spending one hell of a day in Portland. That was perfectly fine with me though. It was only an hour away, and the boys could always nap on the way home.
We spent the next hour getting all of the cupcakes decorated and back into their containers. It was a lot of cupcakes, but I knew they would go quick with being in a hospital. The boys ran up to look through the different games to see which ones they wanted to bring with them. I began to gather all of the decorations that we had made last night as I spoke.
“I’m surprised you aren’t working today. Had I known you would have been off today, I wouldn’t have made plans for Christian,” I said apologetically. I didn’t want to ever take time away from Liam and Christian. I knew how special it was to get that one-on-one time with your father, especially for a boy.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind going to do this. And the boys are very excited to go and meet with Anthony. I think it’s good that they are getting to do this. For Christian to be exposed to different lifestyles. Even though he is young, it’s important that he knows that not everyone lives like we do. I don’t want him to grow up feeling entitled.”
“I can understand that. I do have to admit I am surprised that you live in a small town like this. I would have expected a private jet and a multi-million-dollar condo, private schools, all of that.”
It was odd that he was in a small town. You didn’t tend to find billionaires in small towns. They tended to have estates and empires that they lived in with chefs and maids. Maybe even a butler. Definitely not a beach house in a small tourist town. Not to mention, Ellis didn’t scream small town material. She seemed like the type of woman that wanted to spend her days shopping and getting her nails done. Not getting sand between her toes.
He gave me a smile with a small nod, and I knew he had been through this already. “Growing up, it was all about wealth and your image. Everyone I was around was entitled, and I just couldn’t stand them. Outside of your father anyways. I didn’t want that life for Christian. We used to live in a condo in downtown Portland, and Ellis loved it. But when she got pregnant, I told her that our son deserved a better life. She wasn’t happy about moving, but eventually gave in.”
“Do you regret it?” It was a pretty drastic difference, and not everyone was made for the small-town life.
“Not for a single second.”
He meant every word, and I was glad to hear it. He wasn’t like any of the rich people that I had known and grown up with. He was more down to earth. He knew how important the simple things in life were, and he didn’t try to avoid them from his life. More than that, he wanted Christian to have them. They had every reason to be in a fancy condo living with their heads in the clouds, but they weren’t. It spoke so strongly about the type of man that he was, and I was really liking what I was seeing.
Liam
Wewerefinallyonthe road to Portland. It was only an hour away, so I wasn’t too worried about the drive. The boys were both wide awake with it being morning still. We had packed up the car with all of their homemade decorations, that looked great, and the cupcakes for everyone. This wasn’t what I had been expecting to do today. I had planned on getting some paperwork done at home and hanging out with Christian. Maybe take him to the beach. However, this was better than doing either of those things.
I was a firm believer that those that have money have a responsibility to help others that were struggling. If everyone followed that belief, then there would be a lot less starving children in the world. Charity was something I cared deeply about, and it was really nice to see that Jasmine appeared to care about it as well. That she was passing it on down to Jeremy and now Christian. I had never even thought to do something like this. I didn’t know a charity like this existed, and I would be doing my own research into them to see what I could help donate to them. Giving a child a birthday party might seem simple and pointless, but it would be everything to the child that was stuck in the hospital. Especially if they didn’t have any parents to do it for them.
“Do you do a lot of charity work?” I asked Jasmine as the boys were busy playing on their tablets.
“I used to do a lot of it. I’ve had to slow down over the past four years, but I want to get back into it. I used to work at soup kitchens and animal shelters. I would make food and bring it to the homeless in various areas. There aren’t many charities in town, so I looked online in Portland, and I found a good number of them that I would like to volunteer for. Is that a problem?” she asked, and I could hear the concern in her voice. She was most likely thinking I was going to have a problem with the time commitment that she would be giving.
“Not at all. I’ve done some charity work over the years, but nowhere near the amount I have wanted to be able to dedicate. Most of the charities that I have donated to revolve around feeding children. Are there any that you are more passionate about?”
I had always believed that you could tell a lot about a person based on the charities that they donated to. That they supported. I cared a lot about children and focused mostly on that. I knew others that focused on charities that catered to small business owners or first-time business owners where they could get grant money to help them within that first year of business. Others donated to animal shelters or mental health services. It all depended on that person and their own background.
“Women, children, and animals. They are my top three. I’ve donated to battered women’s shelters, especially the hidden ones. Human trafficking, child sex trafficking, child abuse, animal abuse, and abandoned pets. Those that are the most vulnerable in this world. There is actually one charity that I would love to get back into.”
“And what would that be?”
It made perfect sense to me that the charities she supported were all about women, children, and animals. She seemed like the type that cared greatly for those demographics.
“I was volunteering for a not-for-profit organization that focuses on cybercrimes against children. I would pretend to be a fourteen-or fifteen-year-old girl and communicate with grown ass men that were interested in illegal activities with them. We would gather the evidence and send it to the right authorities for them to be arrested.”
“Whoa, that’s pretty intense.”
I had never heard of an organization like that before. I knew that there was a massive risk to teenagers online. That even kid only chat rooms weren’t safe. I didn’t know what there were adults out there that were posing as children to trap predators and try to put them in jail where they belonged. It was a noble cause, but one I had to imagine took a toll on everyone involved.
“It was. It was hard plenty of times, but whenever a target would do something abusive or revolting, I would remind myself that it could have been a real fourteen-year-old on the other side seeing it. If it was hard for me to see, I couldn’t have imagined what it would have been like for a real teenager.”
“There’s a lot of darkness within this world. It’s hard to remember how much of it is really out there. And what is even more disturbing is that a great deal more happens online with people all over the world. Part of me was relieved that I wasn’t having a girl. I wouldn’t have to worry about men staring at her, or getting pregnant, sexting. All of that. I don’t think I would have survived.”
